diff --git a/x11-terms/kitty/kitty-9999.ebuild b/x11-terms/kitty/kitty-9999.ebuild
index 6b9b2bd6707bf..1a2612a2c843c 100644
--- a/x11-terms/kitty/kitty-9999.ebuild
+++ b/x11-terms/kitty/kitty-9999.ebuild
@@ -119,6 +119,11 @@ src_prepare() {
 
 	sed -i setup.py "${sedargs[@]}" || die
 
+	# skip flaky font search, file is replaced in src_install (bug #971276),
+	# without this the font + fontconfig would also be needed in BDEPEND
+	mkdir fonts || die
+	:> fonts/SymbolsNerdFontMono-Regular.ttf || die
+
 	local skiptests=(
 		# broken with nspawn defaults, skip for convenience (bug #954176)
 		kitty_tests/crypto.py